Re: LBC Safety

[Larry Macy <macy@bblmail.psycha.upenn.edu>]

Concerning Seat belts. 

I have a 3-point harness in the Midget and I always wear it. My only 
concern is if the car flips I will not be able to duck. If I screw up 
that bad I may not want to anyway. My reasoning for a seat belt:

On the last week of school before summer my junior year in HS I was out 
cruising in a VW bug with some friends. Being 17 and invulnerable I chose 
not to buckle up. My friend the driver did as did the guy in the back. We 
came down a hill and ran off the side of the road at about 40 mph. The 
driver overcorrected and we went into a spin. As soon as the car hit the 
pavement the rear wheel peeled and the car flipped. It rolled about 6 
times down the road. I only hung out for 1 or 2 rolls and ended up 
further down the road than the car, all the way on my back (I think cuz 
that was what was most torn up). I spent a week in the hospital, and two 
weeks in bed recovering. (had to get special permission to take late 
finals and screwed most of them up as I was still on the pain pills) The 
driver walked away w/o a scratch and the guy in back had a slight foot 
injury. Had I had a seat belt on I would have stayed in the car and 
probably walked away. I have never gotten into a car w/o putting one on 
after.

The details of the above story were related to me afterwards because the 
last thing I remember is going down the hill and then waking up in the 
hospital about 2 days later.

WEAR YOUR SEATBELTS!! There are too few LBC and drivers as is.

Larry Macy
78 Midget


Larry B. Macy, Ph.D.
macy@bblmail.psycha.upenn.edu
Desktop System Administrator
Neuropsychiatry Section
Department of Psychiatry
University of Pennsylvania
3400 Spruce St. - 10 Gates
Philadelphia, PA 19104